Person Centered Training (PCT) is a planning process that is created by the support team; either the QP, DC, CM, PCA/DSP, or the RP or Guardian, that focuses on the person’s wants and needs. It is about treating the person with respect and dignity, to help achieve their goals, wants, needs, talents, and personal preferences in their community or within the home. Person centered training with the support team helps identify what is important to and for the individual. It helps the support team understand and respect the person’s history and cultural background.
Person centered training also opens the door for communication, and decision-making for the person to express themselves and take part within the community. To be trained in person-centered practices, allows you to better serve the individual you work with and helps the person have and maintain an important role in their own life. Person-centered training helps us help the person to be self-determined and self-direct and have leadership qualities in their own life.
Person-centered training gives us the resources to explore what is important to others, to help them reach their full potential as an independent individual. It gives us the tools to be able to help balance the health and safety of the person by being able to recognize the difference of ‘important to’ and ‘important for’. As a member of the persons support team, recognizing the things that are important to and for them, shows them how valued they are as an individual.
Person-centered training does not just help the people we serve, but it helps everyone. To have knowledge of PCT is to treat others with dignity and see other’s perspectives differently. Person-centered training gives us a window of what people like, what they prefer and how to expand and respect those preferences.